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LASIK, PRK corneas suitable donors for posterior lamellar keratoplasty
Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(11):1423-1427.
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LASIK and PRK yielded no long-term postoperative effects on the corneal endothelium, according to a study.
"Corneas that have undergone LASIK or PRK can be considered for use as donors for posterior lamellar keratoplasty procedures," the study authors said.
The study included 29 eyes of 16 patients who underwent myopic LASIK or PRK targeted for emmetropia. Investigators took central endothelial photographs preoperatively and 9 years postoperatively. A masked investigator analyzed the photos with calibration for magnification.
The authors used generalized estimation models to differentiate fellow eyes of the same patient. They also compared refractive surgery patients' annual exponential rate of cell loss with that of a control group of 42 unoperated corneas of 42 patients during a 10-year interval.
Study data showed that endothelial cell density 9 years after LASIK or PRK diminished 5.3% from preoperative values. However, the coefficient of variation of cell area and percentage of hexagonal cells was unchanged.
The mean annual cell loss rate after refractive surgery was 0.6% in both operated eyes and unoperated eyes, the authors said.